


Echoes of the Past

by temporalbones



Category: Fallout 3
Genre: Comfort, Fluff, Light Smut, M/M, ghoul!lone wanderer, just a drabble that took me all afternoon oops, mention of bullying, nova and gob are only mentioned sorrY, opening up about the past, this is related to a larger series ive got started but havent posted, very light
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-12 20:58:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16003181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/temporalbones/pseuds/temporalbones
Summary: Charon awakens from another nightmare and leaves a sleeping Wanderer in bed to calm himself outside. Turns out that talking and listening help more than cigarettes.





	Echoes of the Past

At first the memories came as dreams. Fragments of a life from too long ago to truly recall, and it frustrated him. Some nights they were of when he was a different man, eagerly enlisting in the military or flashes of domestic life. Of friends whose faces he didn't remember, of a family long dead.

Some nights, they were dark and frightening. 

Charon bolted upright in bed, panting heavily and looking about the dark room in a panic. He could still feel the cold of the water that he'd been thrown into, icy fingers digging into his body. "Just a dream-" He whispered hoarsely and shook himself. _A dream,_ he reasoned. But, it was more than that. The Ghoul ran a hand over his face and fought to steady his breathing, shifting his gaze to the sleeping form beside him. Isaiah slept so heavily he doubted he's even notice if the world ended again. Must be nice. 

Gingerly, he moved the arm resting laxly across his lap, sliding his legs out from beneath the blankets to the cold metal floor below. Charon took a couple more steadying breaths, closing his eyes to try to focus on the now- the real world. The soft creaking of the house in the night wind, the give of the old mattress beneath him and his partner's soft, steady breaths.   
Everything was okay, he wasn't back there. They were long gone and part of a distant past, in a distant place. Not in Megaton, not in the Capital Wasteland. They were both safe.   
He heaved a quiet sigh, flexing his fingers against his bare thighs, squeezing the thick muscle to chase away the ghosts of false cold. The bed squeaked softly as he stood, padding as silently as possible downstairs and stepping past the shut down Mister Handy to retrieve a crumpled pack of cigarettes, and his lighter. Rarely did he ever smoke anymore- he'd been trying to break the habit at Isaiah's request- but, it seemed like a reason to. His fingers were too fidgety to do much else. 

The cold, dusty night air greeted him as he slipped out onto their balcony, shaking free a smoke and lighting it before leaning on his elbows against the railing. The lights strung about the settlement did little provide any real illumination, especially when they pulsed and flickered with little power surges and the wind, but they oddly helped soothe his nerves a bit. It had taken a little time before the people of Megaton finally grew to accept and trust him but he knew should anything actually happen, any real, perceivable threat were to come through the gate, the town would rise as one vengeful beast. He'd seen it happen before. They were rough around the edges, but strong, like their town. Charon snorted softly to himself, letting out the smoke in a sharp puff before taking another heavy drag.

Laughter drifted across the crater from Moriarty's, if he could really call it that. It had changed into Nova and Gob's hands after the old man's 'untimely' demise. As far as he was concerned, from the way he'd heard he treated his two employees, he deserved it. Especially in regards to Gob.   
Footsteps on the platform behind him nearly startled him, and he jerked his head back to look. His shoulders slowly relaxed as Sheriff Simms simply tipped his hat in silent greeting and continued on his patrol. Charon finished the first cigarette and flicked the butt away, watching the tiny pinpoint of glowing orange on the way down to the ground as he pulled out another.

"I figured I'd find you out here." Isaiah's soft, croaking voice made him pause, the cigarette held loosely between his lips. "I kind of notice when there's not a big heater beside me." The smaller Ghoul chuckled, easing the door shut behind him and approaching the other. 

"..Sorry." Charon rumbled, feeling arms slip around his waist and leaning back into the comforting presence. "I wanted to let you sleep."

"I know, big guy." The Wanderer soothed. He squeezed him around the middle slightly, and the former bodyguard hummed in response. It had taken them so long to get to this point. The open displays of affection were a far cry from fleeting touches when they felt no one was looking. Now, they didn't care who saw. "You get like this when something's eating at you. I'm always here to listen, Charon." Another tender squeeze, and the press of a kiss against his back.

"I know," He echoed. "I.. Have a lot on my mind."

"Take your time."

He was never good at expressing how he felt, and was glad that he was with somebody so incredibly patient. Time slowly droned on as he stood quietly in his embrace, piecing his words together carefully and going over how they sounded in his head. He made revisions, tucked away points he felt fit better later on, and let out a steadying breath. 

"..I have been remembering things, lately. Little things. Sometimes, it feels more like déjà vécu... Sometimes, they're dreams." Charon began carefully, feeling the words in his mouth as they came out. He could feel a nod against his back to continue. "They're like watching old holotapes. Immersive, but warped and missing pieces. People I used to know but no longer have faces, schools and homes with no names or addresses." He lit the cigarette, but didn't raise it to his lips.   
"The.. Darker ones, those are always more vivid." He said, barely above a whisper. There was another comforting squeeze as he took a drag, gazing out across the town. "Those I wish would stay forgotten."

"Your nightmares.." Isaiah murmured into his shirt, and Charon grunted quietly in affirmation. They stood like that for a while in the gentle darkness of a sleeping world, one of the large Ghoul's hands drifting down to rest on the Wanderer's, rubbing his thumb slowly over his knuckles. It was a small gesture he'd grown to enjoy and take comfort in.  
"...I get them too." He heard mumbled into his back. "Memories made into nightmares. I.. Don't talk about the Vault for a reason."

"I understand." Charon reassured. "You do not have to continue if it is uncomfortable." 

"No, no. It's okay." His partner shook his head, nuzzling against him in the process. "I want to. It's something long-overdue in opening up about."

"Only if you're sure." 

"I am." Another kiss, helping him to relax further. "So.. You know that I was born out in Rivet City, but my dad moved us to Vault 101 at an attempt at a better life." Charon squeezed his hand gingerly in response.  
"I... Never really had any friends growing up aside from Amata. The other kids either acted like I didn't exist, or decided I was a good target for bullying." His hold on his hand tightened slightly. "At first," Isaiah continued, rubbing little circles against Charon's abs with idle fingers. "I just kind of accepted it. The nicknames and pushing around I could tolerate, you know? In retrospect, I've heard _much_ more creative insults out here." He laughed softly.   
"As we got older, they got worse. The pushes turned to punches or kicks, they'd spit at my feet, threaten me with being put in my dad's clinic... But.. I guess the breaking point was when they cornered Amata. There were three of them- Butch, Paul, and Wally. Paul wasn't so bad, he softened up when the other two weren't around, but Butch and Wally were complete assholes.

"Anyway- They had her corralled up outside of class one morning, harassing her and catcalling. I stepped in, obviously, and things got heated. Too heated, I guess." He sighed, breath fluttering fabric. "It was like something finally snapped under ten tons of pressure, and I went after Butch. You think I'm short now? Try seeing me when I was sixteen." Isaiah joked half-heartedly, making Charon frown faintly.   
"Long story short, I gave Butch a nasty shiner and a bloody nose, and probably a bruised dick-" The larger Ghoul huffed a little in amusement. "And I got a split lip for it all. Wally and Paul had pulled me off of Butch so neither of them got any swings in or at them."

"Amata didn't help?" Charon rumbled, tossing away another finished smoke and carefully turning. He was released until they faced each other, then the arms eased around him again, holding him. 

"Nah.. I think she was mostly surprised I just jumped on them like that." The Wanderer mused. He hummed quietly as Charon's fingers drifted down his back, feeling over what he'd already mapped out in his head. "I think everyone was- The look on our classmates' faces when we came in, with Butch limping and all bruised and bloody and me almost unscathed, it changed things.

"Butch.. Got better, I guess, after that. He didn't push our buttons so much. But Wally became so much more violent. Hell, even after we all finished school and were set in our jobs, he'd come by the clinic to threaten me when I was the only one in." His arms tightened around his partner's abdomen, frowning against him. "He'd gone into security, so he thought with the word slapped across his back and a baton on his hip that he was the hottest shit."

"Did he ever hurt you?" It came out blunt, tense; at odds with his soft touches.

"I'd like to say no, but, I'd be lying to myself. It was only a couple of times thankfully, but it was like he decided to test out how hard a crack to the leg had to be to make someone cry."

"Isaiah-"

"I'm fine, it was years ago." He looked up, chin pressing into hard abs. 

"They let him stay in that position?"

"The Overseer didn't give two shits." Isaiah snorted derisively. "He'd bitched about me my entire life down there, I feel like part of him hoped I'd just conveniently go missing some day after one of Wally's 'visits.' He's a controlling, cold-hearted, selfish bastard." He grumbled, eyes closing as Charon's hand shifted up to massage his scalp softly. "Part of me thinks I should have killed him when he tried to stop me from leaving. He'd already taken away one person from me, and was having Amata interrogated. His own _daughter._ "

"Perhaps." Charon agreed quietly. "But it is alright that you didn't."

"Maybe I'll get another chance in the future? I'd _love_ to see the look on his face when I saunter my pretty ass back into the Vault." Isaiah grinned, earning himself a little grunt of amusement from his otherwise stoic lover. 

"Perhaps." He repeated, starting to move. The shorter Ghoul unwrapped his arms and moved his hands to broad shoulders as Charon's own smoothed down to the backs of his thighs. He lifted the other like it were nothing, supporting him by his legs and leaning against the railing again. Arms slid around his neck, and he leaned in close. "And yes, you do have a pretty ass." He whickered, kneading gently at his thighs and drawing a light laugh out of the other man. 

"And here I thought we just had a touching moment." The Wanderer teased, brushing their lips together.

"There can still be more touching." Charon growled softly with a slight grin. He could feel Isaiah shiver softly at his tone, pressing little fleeting kisses to his lips. 

"Smooth-" He felt hips arch against his waist as he worked his deft fingers more inward, slipping them under the edge of his lover's shorts. "Where did you learn to talk like that?" The other man teased, before going quiet at the sound of approaching footsteps. Hands softly gripped at his shirt collar, and he was tugged towards the house. 

Charon complied easily to the silent command, leaving his smokes and lighter forgotten on the railing. He fumbled with the doorknob for a second and had to duck to avoid cracking his head against the doorframe in his excitement. Isaiah gave a giddy laugh once the door lightly slammed shut behind them, and Charon didn't wait any longer.   
He kissed him hungrily, bracing his back against the door to rut his hips against him. His partner moaned quietly into the kiss, rolling his own hips slightly and letting the larger man feel him harden against his abdomen. 

"Let's forget about our pasts for tonight," He rumbled, nipping at his bottom lip gently. "And focus on our lives now. On each other." Kisses moved down his chin and along Isaiah's throat.

"Oh, believe me." Isaiah sighed, head tipped back for him. "I'm standing at full attention."

Charon laughed against his throat and moved away from the door, carrying him upstairs to their waiting room.

**Author's Note:**

> hi! i havent posted anything here despite having an account for like two years but ive started to become more confident in my writing and open to sharing it!
> 
> i have a writing blog at https://triilo-write.tumblr.com as well!!


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